《Observation of a Demon Tortoise》Year 0 Month 0 Day 2 Hunger [2]

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Just after midnight, the second day started off where the previous left off. Our hapless reptile protagonist trotted along to where the grass was greener. Luckily, it wasn't on the other side of the river but was still quite the walk. Intensified by the fact that it was a slow moving tortoise. Its two siblings that went the same way quickly found their own path, moving out of sight and out of mind.

With them gone, all of the story's focus could go to its rightful owner. At this point, it was just a normal tortoise. It did, however, have some traits that belied its future as a demon. Compared to its siblings, it was slightly larger and had longer claws. Then again, that was just a biological trait unrelated to its future.

As it moved through the rough dirt, its claws dug into the ground and left behind a path. Hours passed and nothing came to bother it. Either the predators pursued one of its siblings or was still satisfied by the initial feasting. The moon fell from the sky, leaving behind a brief lapse of intense darkness before the sun rose.

The sun's rays quickly dried the tortoise and swept away the night's chill. It also revealed a difference from yesterday, a change in color. The shell, it had hardened, and with its hardening came a darker color to show this change. Before, the shell was pale and see through, showing the same light brown color as its skin. Now, it gained a dark brown color and glistened in the morning sun.

Safety at last. Or at least a deterrent was in place. The reason why predators feasted upon the baby tortoises was due to their shells still being soft. Once they hardened, it was a lot harder to eat them. Not impossible, just tedious. As long as food wasn't sparse, most predators would pass over this walking fortress.

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Just by surviving that initial night, the tortoise's chances of survival had skyrocketed. Now it could focus on more pressing concerns such as food, water, and shelter. Tortoises were omnivorous but were primarily plant eaters. Meanwhile, plants tended to sprout up around water sources very easily. So, our protagonist wanted to find someplace with water.

It felt a slight hunger while walking about, luckily food surrounded it. Wild grasses and other weeds lined the path it took. Verdant greens were quite lacking, instead, they were mostly a dry and crisp brown, blending in with the ground below. In fact, even the tortoise's colors blended in with the ground and these grasses. At a distance, it would be impossible to distinguish what was what.

The tortoise took a bite out of a clump of grass. It was dry, tasteless, and sharp. If its tongue and mouth weren't hardy, it might have hurt itself trying to eat this razorlike grass. Since it was so hungry, it didn't spit it out. Hunger is the best spice and it still tasted terrible, but the tortoise swallowed it and continued on its journey.

As it got closer to its destination, the land seemed to come to life. A few streaks of green here and there on normally brown flora. And then the plantlife got so thick that it was no longer making a trail in the dirt but pushing down plant life. A bite here and there as taste tests, nothing was good nor bad. Just filling which was what the tortoise needed most.

It desired more. It had never tasted something good but felt it within its genes that there was stuff that tasted good to it that it wanted. Even though tortoises were pretty much herbivores, that didn't mean they spent all their time eating grass. They ate fruits and vegetables too, which was what this tortoise was aiming for.

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As things became greener, they didn't necessarily become easier to eat. The plants did not want to be eaten and had defenses. Some tasted terrible, some looked fake, and some were even covered in spikes. Reds and dark greens were splattered about on these new plants. They were succulents and cacti.

Not knowing about the spikes, the tortoise took a bite out of a cactus and immediately regretted it. Just like its shell was a deterrent to carnivores, these spikes were a deterrent to herbivores. These spikes were known as spines and were actually sharpened and modified leaves on the cactus. Whatever they were, the tortoise got a mouthful of them.

The spines hurt but did not deter the tortoise. The taste of the cactus was too good to resist. Beneath its hostile exterior was soft and moist flesh like a fruit. Its hard mouth allowed it to resist the spines. They stabbed into its tongue and mouth, drawing a bit of blood. Soon, the tortoise stopped focusing on the cactus and switched to the spines, tearing off each spiky leaf before taking a bite of the now unprotected flesh.

After a few more bites of cactus, the tortoise fell asleep. As the sun rose, temperatures raised with it, making the area nice and warm. Combined with a full stomach, the tortoise couldn't help but relax and just soak in the sun.

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